Air India crash: DNA samples of 31 victims matched, authorities begin releasing bodies
Authorities have matched the DNA of 31 victims of Air India Flight AI 171, which crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, and have handed over 12 bodies to their families, officials said on Sunday.
Dr. Rajnish Patel, Additional Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, addressed the media from the city's 1,200-bed public hospital, where identification efforts are ongoing. 'The bodies whose DNA samples have been matched are being respectfully handed over to the families,' Dr. Patel said. He did not specify the names of the victims who had been identified.
As of 9 pm on June 14, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi posted an update on social media platform X, stating: 'DNA Matching Progress: 19 DNA samples have been matched so far, confirming the identities of victims. Ongoing Efforts: State Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) unit team and National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) team are working through the night to match more DNA samples.'
A statement issued by the Gujarat health department said that for each family receiving the remains of a loved one, a dedicated team of officials has been assigned. This team includes a civilian administrator, a police officer, and a grief counsellor.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Confusion deepens over death toll in Ahmedabad plane crash; officials silent
AHMEDABAD: No official death toll has been declared yet in the AI-171 crash, but a civil hospital doctor on Saturday confirmed receiving 270 bodies. The Air India flight carried 242 passengers—only one, Vishwas, survived. So far, identities of four doctors and nine civilians have been confirmed, while 272 DNA samples have been collected, indicating 18 remain untraced. As the government continues to withhold an official death toll in the Ahmedabad plane crash, discrepancies have begun to emerge. On Saturday, Dr. Dhaval Gameti of Civil Hospital revealed to the media that 270 bodies had been Recived — a figure that sharply contrasts with the official silence. This raises serious questions, considering the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carried 242 passengers and crew, including 169 Indians, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian. Adding to the toll, at least 13 local residents, including four medical students, died when the aircraft came down in a densely populated area of Ahmedabad.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
48 hrs later, a night without end for grieving families, tired staff at Ahmedabad hospital
Till well after midnight when the city went quiet, a small group of labourers were busy reinstalling a canopy, outside the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital's new post-mortem building, that had been blown away when a sudden storm hit Saturday evening. This space was where the police were stationed since June 12, to process records and events related to the London-bound Air India crash that afternoon in which 241 passengers died. Outside Kasauti Bhavan nearby, the exam hall inside BJ Medical College where families were being registered for DNA sampling to identify the bodies, the crowd had thinned. A few family members who had come from other cities waited for updates from inside the hall guarded by policemen. Some volunteers took naps on the plastic chairs, before the long Sunday ahead when more bodies would be handed over. At the stretch inside the premise where the old post-mortem room is located, outdoor units of the heavy-duty air-conditioners blew out a fetid odour. Across this building, the city police had set up another canopy for 'Passenger Relatives'. Lists of relevant phone numbers and helplines hung on banners on the window. The benches were empty. The huge newly built mortuary building had masked policemen on guard in front. On the side of the building, members of the Bajrang Dal wearing saffron sashes and RSS volunteers were disposing trash, mostly plastic water bottles, after a tea break. Some volunteers were also posted outside Kasauti Bhavan to guide family members. The 110-acre Ahmedabad Civil hospital campus had turned into a fortress. Policemen were deployed outside all buildings in the huge complex called Medicity, which has a 1,200-bed hospital readied during the pandemic, UN Mehta heart institute, Gujarat Cancer Research Institute, Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre, and other specialised medical institutions. A few friends of Gopal Patoliya, whose elder brother Arjun (37) died in the crash, had driven down from Surat and waited outside Kasauti Bhavan. 'Will we be allowed inside?' one of them asked nervously. Arjun, a British national originally from Amreli, had come to immerse the ashes of his wife Bharti who died of cancer on May 26, and was returning to his daughters Riya (8) and Kiya (4), who were in London with Gopal. Their 62-year-old mother Kanchanben, who was on the way to Surat after seeing off Arjun, had to return to Ahmedabad midway to give DNA samples for identification. 'None other than those who have given DNA samples or close family members with an authority letter and ID proof are allowed inside. We wanted to enquire about the DNA report but were told we can contact the helpline numbers, or somebody from the hospital will contact us,' said another member of the group. The policemen outside Kasauti Bhavan ensured that no one, barring those authorised, entered the hall where around 30-40 hospital and medical staff were at work. 'We have been informed that there are arrangements to take the body in an ambulance to our native place,' said one of Gopal's friends, as they headed back to the hotel. For all the families waiting for bodies to be handed over after DNA reports, the night did not seem to end. 'We are on a 12-hour shift, and deployed in the hospital campus around the clock,' said a police personnel who was seated with colleagues on the pavement under trees seeking cover from the drizzle in a section of the campus. Till early Sunday morning, 31 passengers had been identified by matching their DNA samples, which included that of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. Outside, a few young girls and boys from the Tera Hi Tera Langar Sewa Trust, based in the Kubernagar area of Ahmedabad, were busy sourcing tea and snacks from stalls outside the hospital campus after they ran out of stock. 'This is the third night in a row that we are providing tea, water and breakfast to the families of victims in the Civil Hospital,' said Kajal Chawnani (23), a Chartered Accountant working in a private firm who was accompanied by 12 others. The group served tea and water till 4 am on Sunday. 'Most of the volunteers are either students or young professionals. Today, as per the approval of hospital authorities, again we will reach at 4 pm at the hospital with vegetable pulav, tea and water,' she said.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
6.81 lakh cattle expected to benefit from special health camps in Salem district: Minister
Tourism minister R Rajendran inaugurates a livestock health and awareness camp in Salem district on Sunday. SALEM: Around 6.81 lakh cattle are expected to gain from 240 livestock health and awareness camps in Salem district, minister of tourism R Rajendran said on Sunday. The minister was speaking to reporters after inaugurating an animal health and awareness camp in Kannankurichi town panchayat in the district. Twenty camps would be held per union. 'The camps are being organized in the district to prevent livestock diseases,' he said. At these camps, vaccinations are given to cattle against diseases like gonorrhoea, smallpox, calf dysentery, cholera and sheeppox. "Cattle treatment, deworming, artificial insemination, uterine examination, estrus coordination, sterilization, minor surgeries, examination of infertile cows using advanced scanning technology and removal of external parasites are performed in these camps. The veterinary disease investigation unit conducts tests for skin diseases, dung, blood, mucus, and milk in cattle," the minister said. The animal husbandry department operates 149 veterinary dispensaries, seven mobile dispensaries, seven veterinary hospitals and one veterinary multi-specialty hospital in the district. District collector Dr R Brindha Devi, Salem corporation mayor A Ramachandran and town panchayat president S Kubendiran were present. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
